Wings over the Amazon: project management for climate research

The CAFE-Brazil measurement campaign involves 20 measurement flights and around 70 scientists. Thomas and his team from the DLR Flight Experiments facility are ensuring that this complex campaign runs as smoothly as possible and captures important and unique data. His task: to keep all the plates spinning, keep a clear overview of the project and stay in constant contact with all those involved, from the technicians to the research teams and pilots.

In the summer of 2019, the aerospace engineer moved from an aircraft manufacturer to DLR. Since then, the CAFE-Brazil mission has been part of his everyday work. Originally scheduled for 2020, the campaign had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "A year ago, we began to update all our plans, asking: has anything changed in terms of the scientific instrumentation? Are the agreements we made for renting the hangar in Brazil still valid? What about at the hotels, where the large team of scientists and engineers will need to live and work for several weeks?" explains Thomas.pagne aufgrund der Corona-Situation verschoben werden. „Vor einem Jahr haben wir dann damit begonnen, alles vorab Geplante aufzufrischen: Hat sich etwas an der wissenschaftlichen Instrumentierung geändert? Können die damals abgeschlossenen Mietverträge für einen Hangar am brasilianischen Flughafen so bestehen bleiben? Wie sieht es mit Hotels aus, in dem das große Team aus Wissenschaft und Technik für mehrere Wochen leben und arbeiten kann?“, zählt Thomas Sprünken auf.

"For my job, I don't really need to be able to do a lot of the things I oversee." In other words, he doesn't have to be able to maintain an aircraft himself – but he does need to ensure that the maintenance has been arranged according to plan and that all documents are available. He doesn't have to plan and apply for flight routes – but he must make sure that communication flows between the mission planning, the pilots and the client, and that the optimal campaign is implemented. A flight campaign is the result of well-oiled teamwork: only when everything has been meticulously prepared in accordance with the regulations may a research aircraft take off. The responsibility for the interaction between all those involved lies with the project management. How much effort and time is needed to coordinate and implement the project also depends on the country in which the measurement campaign is being carried out.

Brazil and Manaus, the city in the heart of the rainforest, did not make it easy for the DLR team: simply getting to the site took the nine-member team through multiple airports. Because of the distance, HALO had to stay overnight in Cabo Verde and be prepared for its onward flight by DLR technicians who had travelled there. Then, for reasons that cannot be explained, it sometimes takes longer for the Brazilian authorities to clear flight routes, meaning that HALO then takes off late for its measurement flight. Thomas has to use the perfect mixture of precise planning and quick improvisation to ensure the measurement campaign stays on track. "Everyone knows that not all the processes on site work the way you planned them when you were sitting at your desk."

During the campaign, the project manager's ‘office days’ alternate with flight days at the aircraft hangar. When HALO is on the ground – for example because the pilots have to observe prescribed rest periods or instruments have to be calibrated or serviced – Thomas is busy with planning, emails, telephone calls and briefings during normal working hours. If a flight day is scheduled, he drives to the airport hours before departure time and is the contact person there for the scientists who are preparing their instruments for the flight, as well as for his team, who ready the aircraft for the eight- to nine-hour flight. HALO is a long-haul aircraft for atmospheric research and Earth observation. The flying days are long and complex, starting early in the morning or late in the evening – in the case of night flights – and are exhausting for everyone involved. The working weeks are intense: the weekend is not off-limits and the team only get one day off in every seven. All resources are scheduled as much as possible to optimise the measurement campaigns. HALO is also equipped to the last centimetre with instruments for CAFE-Brazil; besides the pilots and the technician, there is only room for four scientific staff.